I recently had the pleasure of talking to Mindy, the wife of one of my coworkers, and since she's a new and energized Travelbandits blog disciple I decided to highlight a post I did a while ago that will benefit her family and I hope many others as well.On May 24th we posted a step-by-step protocol on how to fly to Hawaii for almost free (about $110 per person expenditure), which compared to the recent hikes in Hawaii tickets would come in handy.
As we explained, Hawaiian Airlines has 2 credit cards out there- a Bank of America sponsored one, and a Bank of Hawaii one. Sign up for both, buy something ridiculously cheap, wait for your 20000 Hawaiian Miles to post per card, pay the annual fee $50 per card and TADA= you have a nice 40000 mile balance on your account within, well, I'd say 5-6 weeks - whenever your first statement posts.
Tickets to Honolulu and back can often be purchased for 37000 miles...so you'll have more than enough.
A family of four can save lots of money this way which can then be put to better use - splurge on the hotel, dining, activities or, well, put it in the college fund for the kids! :)
Hawaiian miles can also be converted to HiltonHonors Points - however, the conversion used to be 1:4 and has now dropped to 1:2 :( we took full advantage when it was 1:4 last year - my 40000 Hawaiian Miles I had then converted to 160000 HiltonHonor Points which got us a very nice executive floor room for 4 days in the Tokyo Hilton (very nice hotel by the way). So now, you will only be able to convert it to 80000 HHonors points, still 2 free nights - nothing to sneeze at.
Ever wonder where we search for how we can convert miles or points into another program? Go HERE put in how much you want to convert and the calculator tells you how to achieve it. Also, on the sidebar menu you can calculate how many airline miles you will get for a flight (HERE) and very important when you SHOP ONLINE (Mileage Malls), where you can get the most miles for your buck. Be careful though - when you shop online through the mileage mall links - sales or coupon codes will not be accepted or will invalidate your mileage-earning eligibility.
Yes, I had 40000 Hawaiian miles last year in October - converted them all to HiltonHonors and guess what, this September both my wife and me are flying on Hawaiian miles to Kauai.....I just cancelled my initial 2 credit cards in February. Applied again for both in April - got the 40000 miles again....that's what I mean with going to Hawaii on the cheap, every year.
If you are a family of four - plan ahead for next year's trip. Mom & Dad both sign up for both cards. get 40000 each. Cancel both cards after 3-4 months. Repeat - get another 40K. Now Mom and Dad have 160000 miles - should be enough to fly the whole family to Hawaii and back for a total of: $50creditcard annual fee x 8credit cards (4 for mom, 4 for dad) + $10ticket fee x 4= $440. 4 for the price of 1....not bad, right??? :)
More details on the May 24th post of course, with links. I can't promise this deal will be around forever so - I suggest you get on it! There are also Business Credit Cards from Hawaiian Airlines - I never found them to be worth it - you only get 10000 miles and the deal I mentioned above is way more lucrative, But if you need those extra 10000...by all means...go for it.
As always - applying for credit is a personal decision and while my credit score has never significantly suffered and oftentimes even increases - your experience may vary. If you have important purchases lined up, House, car, etc.... the credit card bonus points/miles game might not be for you..... I have been doing this for about 4 years and I have been very successful in accumulating all kinds of miles and points. However, one has to be very organized and conservative with it. Do not overspend, do not carry a balance, fulfill only the minimum requirements!! Sometimes it happens that you get declined - it happens. wait a few months, maybe a year and try again.
And always, ALWAYS, plan ahead. I get a lot of people that ask me how they can fly for free next month or in 2 months - sorry, it's impossible, unless somebody gifts you the miles or you are part of a co-op of mileage collectors that trade miles/tickets in between them (I've heard about it but it's a bit sketchy). You have to collect miles and points like a squirrel all year round to be able to use it when you actually need them. You should be signed up as a member of every airline, every hotel chain reward program, etc since you never know when or where the next deal strikes....AND of course read this blog religiously every week! See what's new, what's hot, what's not....
We don't post every day but at least every 2 weeks or more often when there are exceptional deals!! :)
Go forth and be Mileage and Point squirrels fellow Travelbandits!!!
